Q: I tried to use the tip Help for Command Prompt Commands. I typed HELP > COMMANDS.TXT in the Run command line, and nothing happened. I need a more detailed explanation to make this good idea work.Phil Westervelt

A: It turns out that quite a few people just aren't familiar with using the Command Prompt, to the point where the instructions in my earlier tip weren't sufficient. This particular question was one of many.

The Run dialog is not a Command Prompt. The easiest way to launch a Command Prompt in XP or Vista is to click start, click Run, and enter cmd. What you get looks a lot like the old DOS box in early versions of Windows.

As the earlier tip stated, to get a list of all commands that the Help command can help you with, enter the command help > commands.txt. The file will be created in whatever directory is current at the time. You can tell the current directory by looking at the prompt (the text that comes before the commands you type). In a newly launched Vista Command Prompt, the current directory will be C:\Users\Username; in XP it will be C:\Documents and Settings\Username.

To read the Commands.txt file, you can launch Notepad and just open the file. But since you're already at the Command Prompt, there's an easier way. Enter the command start commands.txt. Among its other uses, the start command launches a document using whatever program is associated with that file.

About the Author

Neil Rubenking served as vice president and president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years when the IBM PC was brand new. He was present at the formation of the Association of Shareware Professionals, and served on its board of directors. In 1986, PC Magazine brought Neil on board to handle the torrent of Turbo Pascal tips submitted b... See Full Bio

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